Memoirs from the life of Imam Ahmad

By Muhammad al-Sharîf

In an interesting book, Wadâ' ar-Rasul li `Ummatihi, Shaykh Al-Qahtâni recalls the final words that Rasul Allâh said on his deathbed. After living a life of Jihad, Da'wah, and Ibâdah, Rasul Allâh (sallalahu alayhi wasalam) gathered the people around him on his deathbed and said,

“I have left two things that you shall not go astray after them so long as you stick to them: the Book of Allâh and My Sunnah.”

After Rasul Allâh (sallalahu alayhi wasalam) moved onto Ar-Rafîq al-`Alâ, the Ummah was tested with humans that tried to corrupt, discredit, or amputate the Sunnah from Islam.

And from the depths of the Ummah's men and women, Allâh ta'ala – from His mercy to the Ummah of Muhammad - raised up warriors that would stand in the face of the most vicious of the enemies of the Sunnah.

From those people that Allâh ta'ala raised was a young boy named Ahmad. Ahmad lived in Baghdad over a thousand years ago. On those cold wintry nights, his mother – the blessed Mu'minah that she was – would wake long before Fajr to warm the water for her son. Then – again long before Fajr – she would wake him to make Wudu, then she would wrap him in shawls and off through the molten dark alleys of Baghdad they would carefully make their way to the Masjid.

There was no male to escort him (he was an orphan), so Ahmad's mother would take him that early so that he could get a good seat in the Hadith halaqah after Fajr. Then she would wait for him long after the sun rose to safely escort him back home. Her son grew up to be one of these warrior defenders of the Sunnah, one of the four Imams of this Dîn, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal.

In his collection, al-Musnad alone, he narrated from over 280 teachers. He grew up under the shade of the Sunnah and he lived the Sunnah. It was reported that he said,

"I've never written a hadith that I did not try to implement."
And he raised his children like this too. When you see other fathers throwing a baseball with their young Muslims that Allâh entrusted them with, remember this example: Abdullâh, Imam Ahmad's son, taught his students that when he was young his father would play with him,

"Take any chapter you wish from the Musannaf of Wakî'. Ask me any hadith and I'll tell you the chain of narrators, or tell me any chain of narrators and I'll tell you the hadith!"
He was challenged in his Dîn like few other humans have been challenged. His name remains engraved in our admiration till today - across hundreds of years, across thousands of miles, across thousands of nations – because of his love for the Sunnah and his stand against those that would seek to corrupt it. Reading through his life, I came across an event that brought back sad memories. How do you feel when your father is swore at in public. Imam Ahmad once prayed Asr and he sat with his son in the Masjid alone with another man by the name of Muhammad ibn Sa'îd Al- Khuttalî. Al-Khuttalî then remarked,

"Did you (O Ahmad) tell the people to boycott Zayd ibn Khalaf?"
Imam Ahmad replied,

"I received a letter from his people asking about his affair, so I replied explaining his Madhhab and what he has innovated (in the Sunnah) and commanded that they not sit with him.."
Al-Khuttalî exploded in Imam Ahmad's face, red with anger,

"I'm going to make sure you go back to prison. I'm going to have them crush your ribs…"
The vulgarity grew louder and louder. Imam Ahmad turned to his son,

"Don't reply to what he says and don't speak to him."
Imam Ahmad took his sandals - al-Khuttali swearing from behind his back - and told his son,

"Tell the neighbors to not speak to him nor to reply him."
Imam Ahmad stepped away as Al-Khuttali continued in the background cursing and shouting profanity. When the Khalifah al-Mu'tasim heard that Imam Ahmad had not agreed with him and his court Muftis on a specific issue, they brought him and questioned him in the courtyard of the Khalifah. They would debate with him and like a gladiator with a spear he would hit back with bigger and stronger arguments. The Muftis would shout, "O khalifah, he has done Kufr!" Until the Al-Mu'tasim was convinced and in came the executioners. They stripped Imam Ahmad and each of the strongest guards would take turns lashing Imam Ahmad until he fell unconscious. Regardless of his state, they continued the lashing. The sun went down that day and Imam Ahmad had not relented in his faith. That day he became an icon for all followers of Sunnah. Qutaybah said,

"If you ever see someone that loves Imam Ahmad, know that they are a follower of the Sunnah."
Al Hasan ibn Arafah narrated,

"I visited Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal after he was whipped and tortured. I said to him, "O Abu Abdillâah, you have reached the station of the Prophets!" He said, "Keep quiet. Verily, I saw nothing more than people selling their Dîn. And I saw scholars that were with me sell their Faith. So I said to myself, `Who am I, what am I. What am I going to say to Allâh tomorrow when I stand in front of Him and He asks me, "Did you sell your Dîn like the others did?" So I looked at the whip and the sword and chose them. And I said, "If I die I shall return to Allâh and say: `I was told to say that one of Your Characteristics was something created but I did not.' After that, it will be up to Him - either to punish me or forgive me."
Al-Hasan ibn Arafah then asked,

"Did you feel pain when they whipped you?"
He said

"Yes, I felt the pain up to 20 lashes then I lost all feeling (They whipped him over eighty times). After it was over I felt no pain and that day I prayed Dhuhr standing."
[In fact he prayed as the blood soiled his clothes.] Al-Hasan ibn Arafah started weeping when he heard what had happened. Imam Ahmad questioned him,

"Why are you crying? I did not lose my Iman. After that why should I care if I lose my life." [Qul lan yusîbana illa mâ kataballâhu lana, huwa Mowlâna, wa ala Allâhi falyatawakkalil mutawakkilun.]

Before – when Imam Ahmad was being led off to the Khalifah – people had tried to dissuade him from a most certain execution. His student: Al-Marrudhî had told him, "O teacher, Allâh says, [Do not kill yourselves]." Imam Ahmad had replied, "O Marrudhî, go outside and tell me what you see." Al-Marrudhî went to the wall of the Khalifahs court and saw an ocean of students with their pens and scrolls in their hands.

Al-Marrudhî asked some of them, "What are you waiting here for?" They said, "We are waiting to see what Ahmad will say and then transcribe it." Al-Marrudhî went back to Imam Ahmad and told him what he had seen. "O Marrudhî,"he said, "what shall I gain by misguiding all those people?"

Imam Ahmad lived a life of poverty. When others eat lavishly remember there were days – as Abdurrazzaq recalls – that Imam Ahmad would make a mistake in Salah. When Abdurrazzaq inquired further he learnt that Imam Ahmad had not eaten for 3 days.

In this life of poverty, hardship and trials, Abdullah asked his father one day, "Abi when will we ever relax?" His father, one of the greatest revivers of the Sunnah, a role model for all Muslims, looked him in the eye and said, "With the first step we take into Jannah."

Rahim Allâhu Al-Imam Ahmad.

This is just a clip of one of the greatest imams that has ever lived. SubhanaAllah look at how he chose the whip and sword over changing his beliefs. this is true iman my brothers and sisters, standing firm on the truth no matter what. the topic they were debating on was, "Is the Qur'aan created". Imam Ahmed stood firm on the truth that the Qur'aan is the speech of Allah and the speech of Allah is not created.

May Allah makes us all as strong as Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal Ameen.

Benefits from reading this:

“I have left two things that you shall not go astray after them so long as you stick to them: the Book of Allâh and My Sunnah.”- from knowing this we know that we have to stick to the quran and Authentic sunnah and if we dont we will go astray.

understanding the love of one's mother to her son. as Imam ahmed's mother would wake long before fajr to warm the water so that her son would do wudhu with warm water. she would take him to the masjid early so that he can have a good seat in the halaqa after fajr.

"I've never written a hadith that I did not try to implement." - that Imam ahmed will practise what he preeches. this will inshaAllah encourage us to do what we say.

raising your child and playing with him. Imam ahmed will play with his son an amazing game about hadiths. this will inshaAllah encourage the child to be steadfast in the deen and grow up to be a scholar.

keeping ones distance from the innovators.

Imam ahmed's patience when al-khuttali was swearing and cursing him.

when in a debate always try to come back with something bogger and better.

standing firm on the truth- imam ahmed was lashed and lashed till he became on unconscious all knowing that this is for the sake of Allah and that he shall have a good answer when he is questioned, "Did you sell your Dîn like the others did?"

the love of his companions to imam ahmed. they would cry when they heard his story.

Abdullah asked his father one day, "Abi when will we ever relax?" His father, one of the greatest revivers of the Sunnah, a role model for all Muslims, looked him in the eye and said, "With the first step we take into Jannah." - knowing that this life is full of hardship and struggles and our time to relax in gardens were rivers are flowing beneath will never let ones head drop. this will keep inshaAllah every believer from climbing this mountain.

I pray that Allah keeps us all strong on the truth. Ameen

A Righteous Predecessor Advises his Son

Mohammad ibn al Mundhir ibn sa’eed related to me that Abu Hatim Muhammad ibn Idrees al Hanthalee said…that al Khataab ibn al Ma’laa al Makhzumee al Qurashee advised his son saying:My son, fear Allaah and be obedient to Him. Avoid sinning by following His Sunnah and teachings in order to rectify your faults and attain bliss, indeed nothing whatsoever is hidden from Allaah. I put some directions together and drew out a plan for you. If you memorize, understand and act upon them, you would fill the eyes of kings and even the vagabond would be obedient to you. You would continue to be needed and honoured, people would continue to be in need of what you posses. So obey your father, suffice yourself with his advice and open your mind and heart to it.Beware of excessive talking, joking, laughing and fooling around with brothers, indeed this removes respect / esteem and causes disputes. It is upon you to be tranquil and calm without having pride, which may be attributed to you, and without being arrogant, which may be said about you. Treat both friends and enemies pleasantly, prevent their harms without belittling them or holding them in high regard.Take the middle path in all your affairs, for indeed the best affairs are the intermediary ones [i.e. between extremism and excessive lenience]. Speak little, spread the Salaam, and walk firmly and purposefully. Do not stamp your feet, drag your tail [i.e: Isbaal], raise your neck, robes or be conceited. Do not look around too much, stop at crowds or linger in the market.Do not debate a lot and do not get into arguments with the foolish. When you speak, keep it short and limit joking. If you sit, cross your legs and avoid interlocking your fingers, playing with your beard, ring or sword handle. Do not clean between your teeth [while sitting in public], pick your nose or busy yourself with chasing flies away. Do not spy on others and so forth, which would cause people to belittle or insult you. Sit calmly in gatherings and speak proportionately. Listen attentively to those who speak about good without displaying amazement or asking them to repeat themselves and refrain from telling jokes or funny stories.Do not speak about how impressed you are of your children, servants, means of transportation or weapons. Beware of drawing ‘The Eye’ upon yourself, for if you display your admiration for these things, the foolish would desire them. They would then make up stories about you and question your intellect.Do not behave like women, and do not be as subservient as a servant. Do not puff up your beard or pat it down to hide it. Refrain from trimming it and pulling out grey hairs. Do not excessively use Kuhl and oils/lotion, use Kuhl occasionally.Do not plead for your needs, and do not be demanding of your requests.Do not tell your family how much wealth you have, let alone others. For if they perceive it to be little, you would be trivial in their eyes, and if it were a lot, you wouldn’t gain their satisfaction through it anyway. Discipline them without using force and be lenient to them without being weak and do not mock your servants.If you were to ever argue, be respectful and safeguard yourself from your own ignorance. Avoid being hasty and contemplate over your argument. Show the judge your forbearance, refrain from pointing a lot, shuffling your feet, reddening your face and sweating. If you are insulted by your adversary, be forbearing and only speak when calm.When you make a promise, abide by it, and when you speak be truthful. Do not raise your voice when arguing, as if you were debating with a deaf person, but at the same time do not be hushed like a mute, and select the best of speech, saying things that are accepted.If you relate something that you have heard, refer it to the initial speaker. Beware of telling atrocious tales that are disliked by the hearts and cause the skin to tremble, and refrain from being repetitive such as saying ‘yes, yes’, ‘no, no’, ‘hurry up, hurry up’ and so on. When you practice ablution, scrub your palms well and place glasswort (a strong-pleasant smelling succulent shrub) in your mouth as you would when using Siwaak (brushing your teeth). Do not clear your throat into the wash basin. Remove water from your mouth gently, do not spit it so as not to accidentally spray the closest person to you.Do not take a bite from a meal and then replace the rest [when eating with others from the same dish], indeed this is disliked. Do not frequently as for drinks at the kings table, and do not fiddle with bones. Do not fault anything that is offered to you at the table by saying things such as there is not enough seasoning, vegetables or honey and so on.Do not grasp onto your money like a miser, and do not spend it like a foolish deluded spendthrift. Know what obligatory rights others have over your wealth, the sacredness of friends, do not be dependant on people and they would be in need of you. Know that greed leads to an attribute [i.e would lead it be one of your attributes], and desire, as is it said, knocks at the door of slavery/servitude [i.e would lead you to be subservient to others]. Tasting it may prevent you from tasting a lot of other meals.Being self-sufficient is an immense treasure/wealth and an honorable mannerism. A man knowing himself/his standing...“My son, indeed a man’s wife is his home/livelihood, he has no life with other than her, so when you decide to take a wife, inquire about her family, for indeed good roots yield sweet fruits.Know that women differ greatly, more so than the fingers of your hand, so shield yourself from those amongst them who are naturally prone to cause harm. Amongst them are those who are self conceited...”To be continued...

Loving Good For Your Brothers

The following was taken from a lecture given by Habib Ali al-Jifri

A sign that you have begun to love good for others is that you will want the greatest good in your relationship with your brothers who are near to you. If you see that Allah (SW) singles out one of your brothers with a particular blessing, either worldly or religious, it is incumbent that you search deep into your heart and find feelings of sincere happiness for him. It is stated in a hadith, "None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother that which he loves for himself." A sign of this love is that you do not become quickly angered if your brother makes a mistake while trying to do something good. Rather than opposing or criticizing him, you should assist him in the rectification of his mistake in a gentle way. It is not easy to have this attribute become firmly planted in the heart, because envy (hasad) is subtle, even among your companions. However, by being sincere and turning to Allah Most High continuously, this affair becomes easy. So, if you see that Allah (SWT) has blessed one of your brothers with uprightness, enlightenment, or righteousness, and it weighs heavy on your heart, the cure for this is to pray that Allah increase him in what He has given him. Say:

O Allah, increase him! O Allah, give him openings!
O Allah, give him Divine success!
O Allah, guide others by means of him!

The existence of the darkness of envy in the soul is a sign of not loving good for others. If Allah bestows a blessing up someone, you might say to yourself, "Masha-Allah, Allah has blessed him with that." However, if he happens to make the slightest mistake, you become angered and say things like, "He doesn't know what he is doing! He doesn't understand! He’s not benefiting people!" Pay attention to what you are saying here. Which is greater, the good he was doing, or the mistake that he made?

Another sign that the heart does not desire good for others is hastening to mention people's errors. This does not mean that you remain silent about the mistakes. Rather, it is upon you to advise your brother and strive to rectify the fault, without diminishing their honor. Your duty when rectifying is to correct the mistake, not to diminish the stature of the one who made the blunder. There is a big difference between the two. From the subtle, evil aspects of the soul regarding this, is the claim that your self is perfect and the other is deficient. Take for instance, when one says, "I am more knowledgeable than him. How could he be the one who does that? How could he have more students? Why are people praising him?" This is claiming that the self is perfect. Or when one says, "I have been studying longer than him. I have more sincerity than him,"

Do you know who said "I?" Pay attention! The one who said, "I," was Iblis. "I am better than him. You created me of fire, while You created him of mud." (7:12) He (Iblis), laughs at you and makes you his student when you say, "I" like he did. You are students of the inheritors of the Prophet (Sallahu alayhi wassllam), not of Iblis.

As for the other aspect of seeking deficiencies in your brother, when you say things like, "He does not know. He doesn't understand. He made a mistake in that. He didn't organize this, etc." What is your intention in saying these things? If your intention is to try to rectify his mistake, may Allah bless you because loving good for people necessitates this. However, if your intention when he makes a mistake is that you don't want him to do something good, sacrifice, or work hard… look into your hearts. Do you want to stop a good action from being done? Pay attention to what is going on.

Don't say anything that your brother would dislike if he were to become aware of what you said. You may only speak to the extent that is needed to rectify a wrong and give advice. You must address him first, if you are unable to, a third person that you know could benefit the situation by influencing him, or speaking to him. But to let your tongue loose and talk negatively about him saying things like, "So and so did this. So and so doesn't know. So and so made a mistake. So and so just wants this for himself. So and so just wants to be known." What does saying these things really mean? This is backbiting (ghibah), and completely impermissible.

You can speak to the extent that is necessary to rectify the mistake, but it is not permissible to criticize or dishonor your brother. If you are able to gently allude to your brother's imperfection (‘Aib) to rectify the situation, it is better than speaking to him directly. If you are able to simply move your lips to inform the person, it is better than raising your voice so that others can hear. If you can speak directly to him, it is not permissible to speak to another about it. If there is one person that can help rectify the mistake, then it is not permissible to speak to two. If two people can rectify the mistake, then you can't speak to three. You must speak to the minimal amount of people needed to rectify the mistake. This mistake is considered to be from the nakedness (‘awrah) of your brother so you should strive to veil the mistake and not expose it. If someone was sitting, and, unintentionally, part of his nakedness became uncovered, and you happen to see this, then you should inform him. If he is far and you are unable to speak to him, don't tell a person to your right or left, or who is in front or back of you, only tell the person who is closest to him so that he can tell him. When the person tells him, he will cover his nakedness and say, "May Allah reward you." But if you were to see the nakedness of someone exposed, and then say to the one next to you, "Look! His nakedness is exposed." And then he says to the person next to him, "Look! his nakedness is exposed." And then he says to the one next to him, "Look! his nakedness is exposed." Did you rectify the situation or humiliate your brother? Is this an affair of our Din? The spiritual nakedness is more severe than the physical nakedness regarding your brother's honor.

Firstly, we need to realise that we are completely poor and in need to serve the Din and the Din does not need us. We should fear to meet Allah without having served His Din. Second, by realizing that we don't deserve to serve the Din, rather, we should hope that by the grace of Allah, He will honor us to be from among those who serve the Din. If this becomes firmly implanted in your heart, Allah will use you for the service of His Din. But, if you believe that the service of the Din is in need of you, and say things like, "Leave them! They will eventually know who I am. They don't know how to do anything. They will try, but fail, and then come running to me. I am the one who knows how to do it." Does Allah need you? Are you crazy?! You believe that Allah needs you?! The Din needs you?! Or to say, "They didn't give me a good position. I deserve a higher position than that which they gave me." What do you deserve?! Or if you say, "I have this and this." What do you really have?! Were Allah to expose your smallest sin, no one would even greet you. So, we must be humble and broken before Allah and annihilate ourselves in the love of service.

May Allah give all of us openings and prepare us to implement these meanings and place these principles firmly in our hearts and make us from the elect that adopt them and unto the presence of the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wassallam).

Four Things You Are Unsafe From

Imaam Ath Thahabi Rahimahullah mentions in his monumental book "Seer A’alaam an Nubalaa” Vol.8 P.406 on the authority of Abdullah Ibn Al Mubaarak Rahimahullah (181H.):“The people of knowledge and insight do not consider themselves safe from four things:1) A past sin he committed which he does not know what Allaah will do with it (either forgive and pardon him for it or punish him with it);2) What is left of his life, whether there is something therein waiting to destroy him;3) A favor that Allaah bestowed upon him, perhaps it is a plot which will lead him step by step to his eventual destruction and ruin;4) Deviance which is beautified for him so that he sees it to be guidance and in a split second, his heart can deviate and he will be stripped of his deen and he doesn't even realize it.”

KHUSHOO IN SALAAH

The Prophet (sallalahu 'alayhi wasallam) said:
"There is no Muslim man who, when the time for a prescribed prayer comes, he does wudoo' properly, has the proper attitude of khushoo', and bows properly, but it will be an expiation for all his previous sins, so long as they were not major sins (kabeerah). And this is the case for life" (Reported by Muslim, 1/206, no. 7/4/2)

The reward recorded is in proportion to the degree of khushoo', as the Prophet (sallalahu 'alayhi wasallam) said:
"A slave may pray and have nothing recorded for it except a tenth of it, or a ninth, or an eighth, or a seventh, or a sixth, or a fifth, or a quarter, or a third, or a half." (Reported by Imam Ahmad; Sahih al-Jaami', 1626).

Only the parts of his prayer where he focused and concentrated properly will be of any avail to him. It was reported that Ibn 'Abbaas (radiyallahu 'anhu) said:
"You will only have from your prayer that which you focused on."Sins will be forgiven if you concentrate properly and have full khushoo', as the Prophet (sallalahu 'alayhi wasallam) said:
"When a slave stands and prays, all his sins are brought and placed on his head and shoulders. Every time he bows or prostrates, some of them fall from him." (Reported by al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubraa, 3/10; see also Sahih al-Jaami')

Al-Manaawi said: "What is meant is that every time a pillar (essential part) of the prayer is completed, part of his sins fall from him, until when he finishes his prayer, all his sins will be removed. This is in a prayer where all the conditions are met and the essential parts are complete. What we understand from the words "slave" and "stands" is that he is standing before the King of Kings [Allah] in the position of a humble slave." (Reported by al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubraa, 3/10; see also Sahih al-Jaami')

The one who prays with khushoo' will feel lighter when he finishes his prayer, as if his burdens have been lifted from him. He will feel at ease and refreshed, so that he will wish he had not stopped praying, because it is such a source of joy and comfort for him in this world. He will keep feeling that he is in a constricting prison until he starts to pray again; he will find comfort in prayer instead of wanting just to get it over and done with.
Those who love prayer say: we pray and find comfort in our prayer, just as their leader, example and Prophet (sallalahu 'alayhi wasallam) said, "O Bilaal, let us find comfort in prayer." He did not say "Let us get it over and done with."- The Prophet (sallalahu 'alayhi wasallam) said, "My joy has been made in prayer." So whoever finds his joy in prayer, how can he bear to look for joy anywhere else, or to keep away from it?(Al-Waabil al-Sayib, 37).

Striving to offer du'a' at the appropriate times during the prayer, especially in sujood
There is no doubt that talking to Allah, humbling oneself before Him, asking things from Him and earnestly seeking His help, all help to strengthen the slave's ties to his Lord and increase his khushoo'. Du'a' is an act of worship, and we are commanded to make du'a'. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): "… call upon Him in humility and in secret…" [al-An'aam 6:63].

The Prophet (sallalahu 'alayhi wasallam) said: "Whoever does not call on Allah, Allah will be angry with him." (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, Kitaab al-Da'waat, 1/426; classed as hasan in Sahih al-Tirmidhi, 2686).

How many of us today think of our salaah as a burden that comes 5 times a day, and we pray it so quickly that at the end of it we are huffing and puffing. it has become like a competition, the fastest wins. from reading the above we should all understand the importance of praying slowly and praying with khushoo, and think of it as a blessing and another step towards our goal, our home, PARADISE.

I pray that Allah helps us pray with more khushoo and that Allah the most high grants us Paradise. AMEEN

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

A man lived with his wife, children and his elderly father

His father was demanding and always talking.
The children would not go near him
His wife would not cook for him
He was given little to eat and sat by the window out the way

The man tired of his father.
Every day was a burden Every day he had something to say
Every day he would ask for one thing or anotherWould never shut up from morning till noon
The man wished that he could be released of this old fool somehow

The idea planted in his mind and grew
The idea took shape and the way out was made clear.

One day the man placed father in a barrow and went for a walk
He walked and walked pushing the barrow all the way.
He walked till he couldn’t walk anymore
He walked for so long that the sun was beginning to set

Nobody around to see the man
His idea was workingHe took out his shovel and started to dig.
He dug and dug
Here would be the final resting place of the blabbering idiot.
Finally he would have peace and quiet

His father looked at him and looked deep into his eyes as if he knew what was coming but then he looked around and kept looking until he saw what he was looking for..

‘There, There…’ he crocked
‘What?’ said the man ‘What is it?’
‘There, There…’ his father said again.
‘It’s just a tree old man’ said the son
His father smiled and looked at him again and said…








‘That’s were I buried my Father….’

HOLD BACK YOUR TONGUE…

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Praise be to Allah in whose hand my soul lies in, the One who created the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them.
Oh slaves of Allah, take heed of what your tongue says, for that may determine your fate between Jahannam and Jannah. One of the grave problems which is taken very lightly by the Ummah at this present time, are the words that we utter. Never do we think twice before we talk. We indulge ourselves into dirty, flithy and forbidden acts. Among these forbidden things which people take often lightly are gheebah (backbiting), buhtaan (slander) and nameemah (malicious gossip).

Worst of all, we backbite about our very own brothers and sisters in Islam. And I swear by Allah this is such a dirty and deadly sin that we are falling into without even realizing it.
For Allaah subhana wa t’ala says (interpretation of the meaning):
“neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is the One Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful”[al-Hujuraat 49:12]

Gheebah or backbiting means speaking about a Muslim in his absence and saying things that he would not like to have spread around or mentioned. Buhtaan or slander means saying things about a Muslim that are not true, or in other words telling lies about him. Nameemah or malicious gossip means telling one person what another said in order to cause trouble between them.

I do not understand how we even dare to talk about the sins of other people, and indulge ourselves in the discussion of the lives of people, when our life itself is so crooked. People hardly pray, or even if they do, then they pray Fajr at the time of Dhuhr, Dhuhr at the time of ‘Asr, and so forth, and one of their excuse for missing or delaying their Salah is, “I cannot find the time to pray”, but yet we find a lot of time for chit chatting about people.

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do you know what gheebah (backbiting) is?” They said, “Allaah and His Messenger know best.” He said, “Saying something about your brother that he dislikes.” It was said, “What if what I say about my brother is true?” He said, “If what you say is true then you have backbitten about him, and if it is not true, then you have slandered him.” Narrated by Muslim, 2589

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed by two graves and said, “They are being punished, but they are not being punished for anything that was difficult to avoid. One of them used to walk about spreading malicious gossip (nameemah), and the other used not to take precautions to avoid getting urine on himself when he urinated.” Then he called for a green branch, which he split in two and planted a piece on each grave, and said, “May their torment be reduced so long as these do not dry out.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 213; Muslim, 292

Know Oh muslims that our tongue will be a witness against us on the day of Judgement. It’s the day where is there no refuge, but except in Allah Subhana wa T’ala. And if Allah Subhana wa T’ala does not look at you, then there is nothing that can save you. And it is a day where if Allah gives your records in your left hand, then everything that will come after that will be bad. Do you want to lose your hard earned good deeds within a few seconds? Do you really want to exchange your salah, saum (fasting) and charity for a big pile of bad deeds? If you do want to, then go ahead and insult people, go ahead and slander against people, for on the Day of Judgement all the people who suffered by your tongue will be rewarded with your good deeds.

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him)reported:
Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa salam) said, "Do you know who is the bankrupt?'' They said:"The bankrupt among us is the one who has neither money with him nor any property".
He said, "The real bankrupt of my Ummah would be he who would come on the Day of Resurrection with Salat, Saum and Sadaqah (charity), (but he will find himself bankrupt on that day as he will have exhausted the good deeds) because he insulted others, slandered against others, unlawfully devoured the wealth of others, shed the blood of others and beat others; so his good deeds would be credited to the account of those (who suffered at his hand). If his good deeds fall short to clear the account, their sins would be entered in his account and he would be thrown in the (Hell) Fire". [Muslim].

Prophet Muhammed sallallahu alaihi wa salam said: “When the son of Adam gets up in the morning all the limbs humble themselves before the tongue and say: Have taqwa of Allaah for our sake, for we are dependant on you, If you are straight/upright, we are straight and If you are crooked, we are crooked.” Hasan - narrated by at-Tirmidhee, lbn Khuzaymah and Ibn Hibbaan from Abu Sa'eed al-Khudree marfoo'aan and authenticated by al-Albaanee in (( Saheeh ul-Jaami')) [351]

So brothers and sisters control your tongues as much as possible, and do no speak ill of people, either in front of them nor behind them. The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wa salam said: “If anyone guarantees me whats between his jaws and between his legs, I shall guarantee him Jannah” Saheeh - narrated by al-Bukhaaree from Sahl lbn Sa'd marfoo'aan.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah rahimullah said:
Whoever wrongs a person by slandering him, backbiting about him or insulting him, then repents, Allaah will accept his repentance, but only if the one who was wronged finds out about that, he has the right to settle the score. But if he slandered him or backbit about him and the person did not hear of that, then there are two views according to the scholars, both of which were narrated from Ahmad, the more correct of which is that he should not tell him that he spoke against him in his absence. It was said that he should rather speak well of him in his absence just as he spoke badly of him in his absence, as al-Hasan al-Basri said: the expiation for gheebah is to pray for forgiveness for the person about whom you backbit.
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 3/291

Remember the wounds of a sword may heal one day, but the wounds of the tongue - they never may, for it may leave a mark in the heart of a person forever. So let me tell you my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, fear Allah as much He should be feared and stay steadfast in your religion. This is a reminder to firstly myself, and then to all of you. Inshallah May Allah Subhana wa T’ala help us control our tongues and maintain unity within ourselves, ameen.


And our Lord the most high knows best

"Indeed Allaah enjoins upon you justice, kindness and the giving of good to relatives and near ones. And He prohibits you from all shameful and evil deeds, oppression and transgression. Thus He admonishes you, that you may take heed and be reminded." [Soorah an-Nahl, 16:90]

A Letter From a Christian Woman...

Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Raheem,
Assalaamu'alaikum Wa'rahmatulahi Wa'barkatahu, dear respected brothers and sisters.

Below is an email that was sent to me from another sister (may Allah reward her efforts, ameen), it may seem long, but subhan'Allah a LOT can be learnt from this woman's words.
------

A Letter from a Christian to a Muslim Woman By Joanna Francis*Writer, Journalist – USA

--
Between the Israeli assault on Lebanon and the Zionist "War on Terror," the Muslim world is now center stage in every home. I see the carnage, death and destruction that have befallen Lebanon, but I also see something else: I see you. I see that though you are dressed modestly, your beauty still shines through. But it's not just outer beauty that I notice. I also notice that I feel something strange inside me: I feel envy. I feel terrible for the horrible experiences and war crimes that the Lebanese people have suffered, being targeted by our common enemy. But I can't help but admire your strength, your beauty, your modesty, and most of all, your happiness.

Yes, it's strange, but it occurred to me that even under constant bombardment, you still seemed happier than we are, because you are still living the natural lives of women. The way women have always lived since the beginning of time. It used to be that way in the West until the 1960s, until we were bombarded by the same enemy, only we were not bombarded with weapons but with subtle trickery and moral corruption.

Temptation…
They bombarded us from Hollywood; they would like to bomb you in this way too, after they've finished bombing your countries. I do not want this to happen to you. You will feel degraded, just like we do. Because everything you see coming out of Hollywood is a pack of lies, a distortion of reality, smoke and mirrors. Presenting casual sex as a harmless pastime because they aim to destroy the moral fabric of the societies into which they beam their poisonous programming. I beg you not to drink their poison. There is no antidote for it once you have consumed it. You will never be the same. Better to avoid the poison altogether than to try to heal from the damage it causes.

They will tempt you with movies and music videos, falsely portraying us American women as happy and satisfied, proud of dressing like we do, and content without families. Most of us are not happy. Millions of us are on anti-depressant medication, hate our jobs, and cry at night over the men who told us they loved us, then greedily used us and walked away. They would like to destroy your families and convince you to have fewer children, by presenting marriage as a form of slavery, motherhood as a curse, and being modest and pure as old-fashioned. They want you to cheapen yourself and lose your faith. They are like the Serpent tempting Eve with the apple. DON’T BITE.

Self-Value…
You are precious gems, pure gold, or the "pearl of great value" spoken of in the Bible (Matthew 13: 45). All women are pearls of great value, but some of us have been deceived into doubting the value of our purity. Jesus said: "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend [slit, rip] you" (Matthew 7: 6). Our pearls are priceless, but they convince us that they're cheap. But trust me; there is no substitute for being able to look in the mirror and seeing purity, innocence and self-respect staring back at you.

The fashions coming out of the West are designed to make you believe that your most valuable asset is your sexuality. But your beautiful dresses and veils are actually sexier than any Western fashion, because they cloak you in mystery and show self-respect and confidence. A woman's sexuality should be guarded from unworthy eyes, since it should be your gift to the man who loves and respects you enough to marry you. And since your men are still manly warriors, they deserve no less than your best. Our men don't even want purity anymore. They don't recognize the pearl of great value, opting for the flashy rhinestone instead. Only to leave her too! Your most valuable assets are your inner beauty, your innocence, and everything that makes you who you are. But I notice that some Muslim women push the limit and try to be as Western as possible, even while wearing a veil (with some of their hair showing). Why imitate women who already regret their lost virtue? There is no compensation for that loss. You are flawless diamonds. Don't let them trick you into becoming rhinestones. Because everything you see in the fashion magazines and on TV is a lie. It is Satan's trap. It is fool's gold.

A Woman's Heart…
I’ll let you in on a secret, pre-marital sex is not even that great. We gave our bodies to the men we were “in love” with, believing that, that was the way to make them love us and want to marry us, just as we had seen on TV growing up. But without the security of marriage and the sure knowledge that he will always stay with us. It’s not even enjoyable! That’s the irony! It was just a waste! It leaves you in tears.

Only a woman can truly understand what's in another woman's heart. We really are all alike. Our race, religion or nationalities do not matter. A woman's heart is the same everywhere. We love. That's what we do best. We nurture our families and give comfort and strength to the men we love. But we have been fooled into believing that we are happiest having careers, our own homes in which to live alone, and freedom to give our love away to whomever we choose. That is not freedom. And that is not love. Only in the safe haven of marriage can a woman's body and heart be safe to love. Don't settle for anything less. It's not worth it. You won't even like it and you'll like yourself even less afterwards. Then he'll leave you.

Self-Denial…
Sin never pays. It always cheats you. There's no substitute for having been dishonored in the first place. We have been brainwashed into thinking that Muslim women are oppressed. But truly, we are the ones who are oppressed; slaves to fashions that degrade us, obsessed with our weight, begging for love from men who do not want to grow up. Deep down inside, we know that we have been cheated. We secretly admire and envy you, although we will not admit it. Please do not look down on us or think that we like things the way they are. It's not our fault. Most of us when we were young, our families have been destroyed. You know who is behind this plot. Don't be fooled, my sisters. Don't let them get you too. Stay innocent and pure. We women need to see what life is really supposed to be like for women. We need you to set the example for us, because we are lost. Hold onto your purity. Remember, you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. So guard your "toothpaste" carefully!

I hope you receive this advice in the spirit in which it is intended; the spirit of friendship, respect, and admiration.

From your Christian sister "With Love"
----------------------------------------- * This article is republished with the kind permission of the author. Joanna Francis is a writer and journalist and she manages her own blog.
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Subhan’Allah wa bi Hamdi, my dear sisters, indeed, we have all been mislead by the dunya and its temptations, with the aid of media and fashion amongst other things. Indeed this Deen of ours has come complete.

Giving women the rights and honour they deserve to be given. Modesty is the natural fitrah (disposition) women were created with, yet the media and the fashion industries have pumped society with lewdness, filth and all kinds of corruption, destroying the purity and innocence of women. Let us not be sheep my dear sisters and follow the western crowd, we have our own identity as Muslimaat (Muslim women), our own values and our own way of life.

Islam was sent down more than 1400 years ago perfect, it was perfect then, it is perfect now and it will remain perfect. The society will not change for us, so why should we change for it?

Islam, is not a sexist religion in favour of our brothers, rather it is a moral way of life, in favour of the Abdullah (male servant of Allah) and Amatullah (female servant of Allah). At the end of the day, think of it this way my sisters,
The brothers go out to work cramped on the buses and trains like in a tin of sardines, whilst the sisters can sleep in, and wake up after her beauty sleep.
…
The brothers do the same work day in, day out, whereas the sisters can do different chores and experiment with different types of cuisines.
…
The brothers give their wives money and provisions, and the sisters/their wives simply go spending.
…
The money of your husbands goes to contribute towards all the family, whereas you my dear sister can spend ALL your money on beautifying yourself and doing whatever you desire with it.
…
The men may get more from inheritance then the women, but this must be spent in providing for his wife, parent, children, and sisters, whereas the women get their share alllll to themselves.
…
The fathers have a degree of rights over the children by one, whereas the mothers have a degree of rights 3 times than that of the father.
…
The men pray 24/7 including Jum’ah being fard, whereas the women get a break during their menses and Jum’ah is a Sunnah.
…
It is better for Brothers to go to the Masjid to pray, in the cold, windy, snowy, rainy, weather, whereas it is a mercy from Allah that we as sisters can pray at home (and just laugh at those stuck outside, while we sit in our slippers next to the heater).
…
So my dear sisters, is Islam really in favour of the men? Well I don’t know about you but I’m sure glad to be a woman!

Wassalaam.

YOUR FINAL EVENT!!!

DATE: Wednesday 6th May 2009

TIME: 3:15 - 5:15pm

VENUE: Main Hall

SPEAKER: Muawiyya Tucker

TOPIC: The Punishment of the Grave, Paradise and the Hellfire

BE THERE!

A simple story with a strong message...

Aslaamau alikum

A simple story with a strong message....

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island.

He prayed feverishly for Allah to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and to store his few possessions.

But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger.

"Allah, how could you do this to me!" he cried. Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him.

"How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

Moral: It is easy to get discouraged when things are going badly. But we shouldn't lose heart, because Allah is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering.Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground--it just may be a smoke signal that summons The Grace of Allah.

Truly Allah is "Al-Muhaimin" -The Protector, The One who witnesses the saying and deeds of His creatures.
Allah makes ways for us that we could never ever imagine. Alhamdulilah

SHAHADAH

By Fatima Barkatulla

MashaAllah a few weeks ago in Birmingham I had the opportunity by the grace of Allah to take a sister's Shahadah. It was the first time somebody repeated the Shahadah after me and so I found it very moving as I had been making du'a that Allah would give me that chance. It went something like this (I've called her 'D'):

D had been told that she could attend the Tarbiyah programme to get to know more about Muslims, so she was sitting in the tarbiyah programme hall and had been observing us teaching salaah, wudhu and recitation of Suratul Fatiha with Tajweed. Then after my talk I was walking past her when it looked like she wanted to say something.

So I went over to her and asked her if all was OK.
"How are you finding it?"
"Good...yeah....er...I just wanted to ask you what a person has to do to become a Muslim."
"Oh." I said, "you think you might like to?"
"Well, I don't really know how to do anything and I don't know if I could do it all..."
"Well you know, it takes time and slowly slowly you learn more everyday and do more. You can't be expected to do everything all at once or know everything all at once. Look at us....even we are still learning." I said.
She nodded.
"So look, do you believe that there is only One God and He alone deserves to be worshipped?"
"Yeah" she said...she had been reading and learning and she was definitely sure about that one.
"OK, and do you know about the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)?"
"Well, I've read about him"
"OK, so are you convinced that he was a Prophet of God, the last messenger (peace be upon him)?"
"Yes."
"You accept that?" I was getting excited by now!
"Yes."
"Then you are already a Muslim. You just need to declare it so that you acknowledge it to God and to us Muslims. That's the Shahadah, you're testifying that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah, the One and Only God and that Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is the messenger of God."
She nodded sweetly.
"So, D, are you ready? You don't have to do it on the microphone or anything."
A pause.
"The most important thing now is to declare what you believe. So that you'll be counted as a Believer. Because we don't know what could happen to any one of us when we walk out of this place tonight. May Allah protect us but we don't know when death will come."
She looked down, nodding and then raised her head and said "Yeah. I'm ready."
Then I sat down next to her. Some sisters had figured out something big was going on and had begun to congregate around us. Some sat next to her.
"Could you explain what I have to say first."
"Yeah. You say Ash hadu Allaa ilaaha illallah. Wa Ash hadu anna muhammadan rasoolullah. Which means, I bear witness or I testify that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah. And I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). OK?"
She nodded.
"What was your religion before this?" I asked.
"Nothing" she said. I'd asked her, to make sure that if she had been a Christian, that she definitely believed that Jesus was a Prophet and not the son of God. Sometimes Christians find that concept hard to let go of, but in her case it wasn't an issue.
"OK so repeat after me. We'll say it in Arabic and then in English." Then she repeated the Shahadah after me in Arabic. In the middle of it I couldn't stop the tears flowing and had to stop for a moment to gather myself. I found it so moving at that moment to feel that the message of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) had indeed reached so far, over the world and that we, in the middle of Rum (Rome as the Arab's called Europe at that time) were sitting here taking a persons declaration of faith in the message that that kind shepherd, the orphan who became the leader and liberator of Arabia had come with (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) How truly momentous each and every Shahadah is.
It reminds me of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) at his farewell pilgrimage when he was so careful to ask the people gathered at Arafah "Have I conveyed the message?" And they replied in unison "Yes!" And he said to Allah "Oh Allah bear witness!"

And in this Hadeeth: One day when the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) returned from a journey and went to Fatima’s house, Fatima welcomed him and kissed his face, his mouth and his eyes and wept.
“Why do you cry?” the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) asked.
“I see you, O Rasul Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam),” she said, “Your colour is pale and sallow and your clothes have become worn and shabby.”
“O Fatima,” the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) replied tenderly, “don’t cry for Allah has sent your father with a mission which He would cause to affect every house on the face of the earth whether it be in towns, villages or tents (in the desert) bringing either glory or humiliation until this mission is fulfilled just as night (inevitably) comes.”

How I wished I could tell the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) how far his message had come! "Yes! Oh Prophet of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)...you indeed conveyed the message! The whole world testifies!"

Then she completed repeating the Shahadah after me in Arabic and then in English. By now a large crowd of sisters had gathered around us. All silently observing this miracle. The miracle of Hidaayah or guidance. How Allah turns a person towards Him and guides them and makes them into our Sisters and Brothers in Islam. The sisters embraced her and called out Takbeers.
One sister who had embraced Islam just a few months earlier said to her "You've made the right decision sister. You won't regret it!"
I encouraged the sisters not to allow this to be the end of their love and enthusiasm for this sister. That is was our responsibility to open up our homes, to really make this sister a member of our families.
Some responsible sisters took on the role of being mentor to her and exchanged email addresses and phone numbers. We emphasised Salah to her (even just doing the actions and reciting some basic things like Subhan Allah, Alhamdulillah and Allahu Akbar during salah until she learns it properly and keeping away from Major sins....insha Allah over time, by keeping to Salah she will become stronger and do more and more.

I felt like it was the best day of my life so far and when I got home I did Sajdah of Thanks to Allah.

Are we the MASTERS of our parents?

I remember that once upon a time, it used to feel like a big shock when I heard about news of murder cases. Every once in a while I would hear about a killing somewhere. But now, when I flick through the news channels or the Metro on the train in the morning, there are dozens of articles about murders, about deaths. It doesn’t seem like big news now, because it is so common and I read about it after each and every turn of a page of the Metro…EVERYDAY!

What has this world turned into? There is so much brutality, so much hatred, so much bloodshed! What’s even worse is that I have noticed that many of those murder cases I read about these days are about ‘a mother or father killing their child’ or ‘a child killing his parents!’ Respect has been lost almost completely for parents! They are the people who brought us into this world. They are the people who raised us up, put up with all the stress and distress we made them go through when we were young. And we, in return, disrespect our parents using foul language, cursing them, hurting them emotionally and showing not even an atom’s weight of respect for them!

I would like to mention a story that really woke me up:

There was a very loyal companion of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) whose name was Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas (radhiyallahu ‘anh). He was one of the companions who showed the most respect for his mother and he loved her greatly. But when he embraced Islam and became a Muslim, his mother was extremely angry.

She told him:

“Give up Islam, or else I will go on hunger strike until I die. Then you will feel shame before the Arabs, as they will say, ‘He killed his mother.’”

Now tell me guys, how could a son, especially a son like Sa’d (radhiyallahu ‘anh), watch his mother go on a hunger strike and eventually die? This had hurt Sa’d (radhiyallahu ‘anh) a great deal but he was just a new Muslim and believed that he cannot ever give up Islam.

So Sa’d (radhiyallahu ‘anh) responded by saying:

“You should know that, by Allah, even if you had a 100 souls, and they left your body one by one, I would never give up Islam.”

This showed how firm his belief was in Allah and the Messenger (peace be upon him) but it was the ‘wrong’ response.

Allah immediately revealed a verse from the Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him):

“However, if they force you to ascribe partners to Me about whom you (can) have no (source of) knowledge, then do not obey them. Remain with them in this world with due fairness, but follow the way of the one who has turned himself towards Me. Then, towards Me is your return, so I shall tell you what you had been doing.” [Qur’an 31:15]

Sa’d (radhiyallahu ‘anh) was a very good companion but this incident was destined to happen in order for the rest of the Ummah to learn from it. It wasn’t right the way Sa’d (radhiyallahu ‘anh) spoke to his mother although he was put in a very uneasy and painful position. We must treat our parents with patience and thought, even if they tell us to go against Islam. But how many of us born into a Muslim family, have parents who are asking us to go completely against Islam?
Even if our parents interfere in the choice of our friends, we assume that they’re ruining our lives; hence we attack them with our loud and abusive words.

Have the parents in this world given birth to their masters?
Have they raised their children so they can be ruled by them?
If we are shouting at and arguing with our parents today, what is our next step?
A push?
A stab?
A new murder case in the Metro?
May Allah discourage these ruthless acts within our Ummah.

We need to be careful how we treat our parents, because the Satan will always be there to encourage us to take a step further towards Hell.
Always remember what our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught us that whoever pleases their parents, pleases Allah and whoever angers their parents, angers Allah.

If you feel that you haven’t done much for your parents, do something. The least we can do is make sincere du’a for our parents and this is a recommended du’a that we can recite:

“Rabbighfir lee Wa Liwaalidayyah Wa Lil Mu'mineena Yauma Yaqoomuk Hisaab.Rabbir HamHumaa Kamaa Rabbayaanee Sagheeraa.”

O Lord, forgive me, my parents and Muslims in the Hereafter. O Lord, show mercy on them as they have nourished me when I was young.

- The Sweet Smell of Lust -

Adornment of the women series (Part 1)

- The Sweet Smell of Lust -

Asalaamu'alaikum Wa'rahamtulahi Wa'barkatahu dear respected brothers and sisters.
Alhumdulilah i am very pleased to let you all know that we will be starting a series of posts on the Adornment of Women on the blog, addressing issues we find so common in society but forget to find out the Islamic perspective (may be the brothers could do something similar for men). Yes the posts are lengthy, but need to be in order to get across the whole picture. The post is as follows...

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As one walks down the street, one can smell the piercing smell of perfume, a bit of Chanel here, a bit of Lacoste there and a bit of Givenchy everywhere.

Sisters are lathering themselves in so much perfume, layering one on top of the other, so much so that you can smell them miles off!!!

Sisters, we are too keen to waste our money on perfumes, indulging in Haraam, we forget our brothers and sisters around the world who can’t even afford to get some water just to perform ablution or ghusl!

Sisters, we wear hijaab as a means of covering our beauty, because this beauty is something pure, rare, special and only for our husbands’ insha’Allah, but that very beauty is put again on show via perfume. It may not be on show through the eyes but through the sense of smell!

Such is perfume that when smelt, even if you didn’t see the woman wearing it, or even as ugly as her physical appearance may be, to one’s mind, illustrious images are created of how beautiful and sexy she must be and naturally many feelings are aroused.

By the way, recently biologists have discovered a sexual gland in the nose, i.e., there is a direct connection between the sense of smell and the provocation of desire. If this is true, then it is one of the signs that prove even to the kuffaar how precise are the rulings of this Shari’ah, Subhan’Allah which came to preserve chastity and to block the ways that lead to immorality.

My dear sisters, we should be a means to protect our brothers and vice versa, we shouldn’t make it harder for them then it already is by applying perfume outside the home. (Perfume even in the home should only be applied amongst Mahram men.)

Furthermore sisters, wearing perfume outside was not the practice of the Umm-ul-Mu’mineen (Mothers of the Believers), i.e. the wives of the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam, wearing ‘Atr and perfume was something intimate and special only for the husband. Therefore applying perfumes and ‘Atr outside the home is an imitation of the kuffaar women, as in society it is their practice.

It was narrated that Zaynab, the wife of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood, said: The Messenger of Allaah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam said to us: “If one of you attends the mosque, let her not put on perfume.”
[Narrated by Muslim (443)].
&
“…so A’ishah Radi Allahu Anha went to the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam and put on her khimar (a nice/special jilbab) and put on Safr on (the equivalent of what is known now days as perfume) on her hijaab/khimar and wet it with water and she brushed water over it so that the smell would come out more and she came to the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam that night and sat (intimately) close to him…”
[Muhammad Al-Shareef: How To Be An Outstanding Wife.]

My dear sisters, pay close attention to the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam:
“It was narrated from Abu Moosa Radi Allahu Anhu that the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam said: “If a woman puts on perfume and passes by people so that they can smell her fragrance, then she is such and such,” and he spoke sternly - meaning an adulteress.”
[Narrated by Abu Dawood and al-Tirmidhi]

al-Mannaawi said in Fayd al-Qadeer (1/355):

“She is an adulteress” means: because of that she is exposed to zina, and implementing the means that lead to it and calling those who seek it. Hence she is called an adulteress in a metaphorical sense, because desire may prevail and real zina may take place. Her passing by men is likened to her sitting in their path so that they pass by her. End quote.
&
The Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam said:
"Any woman who applies perfume and passes by a group of people who may smell her perfume, is an adulterous woman."
[Ahmad and An-Nasaa'i]

In the time of the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam, such were the Sahaabee (the companions of the prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam), that when the men smelt the women/a woman with perfume coming to the mosque, the Sahaabee such as Umar bin Al-Khattab Radi Allahu Anhu would chase her away, throwing pebbles, because of the Fitnah perfume presents.
Abu Hurairah said that:

A woman passed by him smelling strongly of scent. He called to her: "O slave of the powerful, are you going to the mosque?" She said that she was. He said: "Go back and wash it off. I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: 'Any woman who goes to the mosque wearing perfume will not have her prayer accepted by Allah; first she should go back home and have a bath [to wash it off].'
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In Sahih Muslim that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said:
"Any woman who uses some scent should not be present with us during the night prayer".
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The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) also said:
"Do not prevent woman from praying at the mosques of Allah. And they are to go out unperfumed”.
[Ahmad and Abu Dawood].

Our ultimate role models besides the Messenger of Allah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam, for the women are the Umm-ul-Mu’mineen; the Mothers of the believers and of course the perfectly created women of Jannah: the Hoor al-Ayn.

With both, the nature of these women were/are such that they would only put on perfume/adorn themselves for their husbands in the privacy of their own homes where no stranger could be present. This is clearly evident from the previous narration of A’ishah Radi Allahu Anha going towards the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam.
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In Mishkat, (volume three it says on pages 83-97): The Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam said: "If a houri looks down from her abode in heaven onto the earth, the whole distance (space) shall be filled with light and fragrance. A houri's face is more radiant than a mirror, and one can see one's image in her cheek. The marrow of her shins is visible to the eyes".
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The Hour-al-Ayn do not want wives to annoy their husbands, since the houris will also be the spouses [i.e. wives] of the husbands in the afterlife; Ibn-i-Majah vol.3:2014 p.212;

My Dear sisters what do we learn from these ahadith and narrations? That the women of this Dunya and the women of Jannah merely hasten to please only their husbands, no one else, the wearing of perfume is a form of pleasure only for the husband.

The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) has said:
“Marry pleasant and fertile women (capable of conceiving children)…” The Hadith goes further to give some detailed description of the characteristics of the good wife, saying that “she is the one if her husband looks at her; he is pleased by her appearance”.
Perfume is part of that which is pleasing, my dear sisters!

Sisters like mentioned before, part of our role in society is to help our brothers in Islam to progress further and higher in Al-Islam. This meaning, helping them to lower their gaze, as they help us to do so as well.
Now dear sisters, imagine being head-to-toe intoxicated in perfume, and walking down the street, on the street a brother is pacing towards you (as he may be late for Jam’ah or something the like), as he walks past you, despite only for a split second, your perfume reaches the brother and he can smell your scent, despite being a good practicing brother in the Deen, the brother may be aroused, because such is the smell of perfume that anyone of us can be the target of attraction to the opposite sex! (As the biologists have now realized…Subhan’Allah! What took them so long?)

(Next thing you know, your getting stalked, getting odd proposals of marriage and being chased down the street, with some bearded brother in a thoub declaring his love you!)

Subhan’Allah! As far fetched as this sounds, we live in a world where all this is possible because the Shaytaan will not rest till we bite from the fruit of temptation, our own very nafs (desires) will keep going until we commit a haraam, such as ZINA!!! …All because of the ‘Sweet smell of LUST’.

Sisters I’m not saying we should deprive our selves of perfume completely, for those of us married, Alhumdulilah it should be for the husband, for those of us still looking/single so forth, our maternal home is a fine place to indulge ourselves (providing there are only women and Mahram men present, not at family gatherings with cousins and the like.)

Neither am I saying, go round college smelling of B.O, there are many FRAGRANCE-FREE deodorants!!!

Sisters, try to think back to a hadith I mentioned in a previous post about Allah disliking the squandering of money, now sisters ask yourself, how much does ONE perfume cost??? When researching average prices I came up with: £19.50 (Intimately Beckham), £39.00 (Britney Spears-Curious), £37.00 (Lolita Lempicka), & £49.00 (Joop Femme)!!! Subhan’Allah Wa bi Hamdi!!! Add another pound and you will have enough to pay for Qurbani, have enough to get a poor child in Baluchistan an E’id gift, pay for a water pump, that same money going so much more further and it is an HALAAL investment!!!

One can simply go to ZamZam or something and buy ‘Atr/’Itr for a mere £1.50.
Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam praised musk.
At-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawood narrated from Abu Said Radi Allahu Anhu that Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam said about musk:
“It is the purest of all your perfumes”.
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Al-Bukhari, Nasai and al-Tirmidhi narrated from Muhammad bin Ali, he said: I asked Aisha Radi Allahu Anha: “Did Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam used to put on a perfume?”.
She (Radi Allahu Anha) answered:
“Yes, with the best of the male perfume: Musk and ambergris”.

Now sisters this does not mean all the sisters start coming to college stylin’ it out with ‘Atr, saying “Oh it’s halal, I’m not wasting money, it’s the Sunnah, Mehak said so!” I am merely suggesting a cost-effective alternative for HOME-use!!! (the operant word being HOME!!!)

Sisters I would like to end this post, re-stating the one of the first hadith I mentioned:
The Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam said:
“If a woman puts on perfume and passes by people so that they can smell her fragrance, then she is such and such,” and he spoke sternly - meaning an ADULTERESS.”
[Narrated by Abu Dawood and at-Tirmidhi]
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Keep the Ummah in your du'as,

Wa'asalaam, Sister In Islam!

The Story of Luqman(A.S.) and the Melon

Luqman(A.S.) had great love for the Almighty, that it created within him high moral character and exemplary habits. This was a clear sign of his nobility and nearness to Allah. The details of that is described in Surah(Chapter) Luqman in the Glorious Qur'an.
Luqman(A.S.) used to be in the employ of a rich man. The nobility of Luqman(A.S.)'s character had a great effect on his master, so much so that the master considered him as a great friend and a beloved companion. Although he was the master, yet in fact the master became like a slave to his employee.
It became the practice of the master that whenever he had something special to eat, he would first feed Luqman(A.S.) of it and after Luqman(A.S.) had filled himself, he would eat the left overs. Luqman(A.S.) would consider the love of the master and his habit, so he would eat moderately and send what was left over to the master.
One day, during the melon season, the master received a melon from somewhere. At that time Luqman(A.S.) was not present. The master sent one of his slaves to go and call him. When Luqman(A.S.) arrived, the master cut the melon into slices and slice by slice started giving thereof to Luqman(A.S.) to eat. As he ate the slices, the master inwardly became pleased at the effect his love was having upon Luqman(A.S.).
Luqman(A.S.) ate the slices with great PLEASURE and all the time expressed THANKS for the favour shown to him by the master. After having eaten the slices, when just one slice remained, the master said: "Let me eat this slice and see how sweet is this melon." Saying this, he put the slice into his mouth. Immediately, such bitterness spread from the tip of his tongue down to his throat, that as a result of the extreme bitterness of the meoln, he fell down unconscious and remained unconscious for a whole hour.
When he regained consciousness, he questioned Luqman(A.S.): " O Beloved one, How did you manage to, so heartily eat those slices of melon ? Just one slice of the melon had such an effect on me, then how did you manage to eat so many slices ?" Luqman(A.S.) replied: "O Friend, from your hands I have received hundreds of gifts. The burden of thanks upon me is so great, that my back has gone crooked. Hence, I felt ashamed that the hand that had granted me so much favours, if one day some distastefulness or bitterness should come, how can I turn away from it ? O Friend, the pleasure of knowing that it comes from your hands has changed the bitterness of the melon to sweetness."
LESSON:
At every given moment there are numerous bounties and favours of Allah upon mankind. But if ever for a moment some such incident takes place which brings with it, a problem and outwardly causes some difficulty, man loses patience and fails to be grateful. On the other hand, there are those who are granted understanding, so that when sorrows and difficulties touches them, they remain happy, pleased and grateful to their Lord. At such times, they draw strength from their good understanding and realise that this world is like a hospital and we are like patients in it. There are times when the doctor gives the patient " sweet " medicine and at other times " bitter" medicine. However, in both these, there are beneficial results for the patient. Similarly, Allah is the "Al Hakeem", the All-Wise and at the same time is the " Haakim"- Ruler. He is also "Ar- Raheem", the Merciful One. Hence, whether it brings out comfort or discomfort, all these are for our benefit and interest.
..................... So be Grateful and Thankful under ALL circumstances and conditions to the Almighty.

The Flower Vs. The Pearl...

The Flower Vs. The Pearl...

Asalaamu'alaikum Warahmatulahi Wabarkatahu dear respected brothers and sisters, insha'Allah this post is more aimed towards the sisters, but the brothers can apply this to their own hijaab and whether they'd rather follow the sunnah or the society (i.e. covering for their Awrah [navel to knees]).

"One day, a brilliantly beautiful and fragrant flower with attractive colors met a pearl that lives far in the bottom of the sea and has none of these characteristics. Both got acquainted with each other.

The flower said:
"Our family is large; roses and daisies are members of the family. And there are many other species that are various and countless; each has a distinctive scent, appearance etc."

Suddenly, a tinge of distress appeared on the flower. "Nothing accounts for sorrow in your talk; so why are depressed?" The pearl asked.

"Human beings deal with us carelessly; they slight us. They don't grow us for our sake but to get pleasure from our fragrance and beautiful appearance. They throw us on the street or in the garbage can after we are dispossessed of the most valuable properties; brilliance and fragrance." The flower sighed.

And then the flower said to the pearl: "Speak to me about your life! How do you live? How do you feel it? You are buried in the bottom of the sea."

The pearl answered: "Although I have none of your distinctive colors and sweet scents, humans think I am precious. They do the impossible to procure me. They go on long journeys, dive deep in the seas searching for me. You might be astounded to know that the further I lay, the more beautiful and brilliant I become. That's what upraises my value in their thought. I live in a thick shell isolated in the dark seas. However, I'm happy and proud to be in a safe zone far from wanton and mischievous hands and still the humans consider me highly valuable."

Do you know what the flower and the pearl symbolize? Think, Think, Think... You will find that: The flower is the unveiled woman (who shows her charms) and the pearl is the veiled woman (who conceals her beauties).

Who would you like to be my dear sisters?????

Wasalaamu'alaikum Wa'rahmatulahi Wa'barkatahu.

The Beauty of a Woman

The beauty of a woman isn't on the front covers of a magazine,
The beauty of a woman is reflected by her love for her deen.
The beauty of a woman isn't in her airbrushed smile,
its her hard work she dedicates to her family that goes a mile.
The beauty of a woman is apparent in her motherhood,
she raises her children to form a strong Muslim brotherhood.
The beauty of a woman isn't in her figure or how much she weighs,
its when she pours her heart out to Allah and prays.

The strength for every good man,
performing all the dignified roles- shes still amazing even as a gran!
The endless and tiresome nights; she raises her children in Allah's name with sheer delight People think that by working outside that gives a lot to contemporary society,
fair enough but ignoring the family isn't really piety.
The beauty of a woman lies in her unconditional love;
that Allah by His Rahman bestows from High above.
Without our mothers what would we have been,

When man cries defeat the beauty of a woman can be seen by her grace,
she aspires her husband to never leave his place.
Her hijab is for her; So why can't the media stop the slur.
She adores her coverings, its not for men and women to stare -
all this for Allah she is offering.
The beauty of a woman can be measured by her friendship
from every kind word, advice and so many tips.
The beauty of a woman can be seen in her intelligence,
not in skinny tight jeans, but modesty in my book is elegance
I'm not here condemning women- because we are all different,
but there are certain qualities that are ignored- those qualities are magnificent.

Her laughter and her beautiful smile;
is still there after she has struggled hard for miles.
She maintains her role to such perfection; of mother, daughter, sister, and wife
she has the same rights to education.
Best of all her beauty stems from Islam;
that through the chaos of this world saves her from harm.
She feels at ease, and is truly liberated,
if only other women knew how these lies about our women are fabricated.

The Key to Answered Prayers (Part II)

Imam Ahmad, may Allah be pleased with him, was once travelling and needed to stay somewhere overnight. When he went to the masjid, the guard (not recognising Imam Ahmad) denied him entrance. Imam Ahmad tried numerous times, but the guard did not accept his requests. Frustrated, Imam Ahmad resolved to spend the night in the masjid yard. The guard became furious and dragged him away, despite the old age and weakness of Imam Ahmad. A baker, whose shop was nearby, watched this scene and took pity on Imam Ahmad. He invited the Imam to stay with him for the night. While there, Imam Ahmad noticed that the baker continually made istighfar (asking for Allah’s forgiveness) while working, and in the morning, the Imam eagerly asked his host about the latter’s continual seeking of forgiveness. The baker said it had become like second nature, and Imam Ahmad then asked whether the man had experienced any reward from this practice.

The baker answered, “By Allah! No duaa (supplication to Allah) I made except that it was answered but one.”

“And what is that duaa?” asked Imam Ahmad.

“To be able to see the famous Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal!”

Imam Ahmed interrupted, “I am Ahmad ibn Hanbal!”

He then went on to add:

“By Allah! I was dragged to your place so that you can have your duaa/wish come true.”

- Summarized from Al Jumuah magazine, vol 19, issue 7.

Aishah (radi Allahu anha) said- ‘So lucky is the one who comes on the Day of Judgment and find in his/her record a lot of astaghfurillah.’ SubhanAllah…Allah dragged Imam Ahmad to the house of the baker to answer his duaa. We need to start making istighfar and a lot of dua brothers and sisters, and not only for ourselves but also for our brothers and sisters who are suffering all over the world. Dua in itself is an act of worship, and one of the duas that quickly receives an answer is the dua that one makes for his brother/sister in their absence for the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said,

"The dua of a Muslim for his brother (in Islam) in his absence is readily accepted, an angel is appointed to his side, whenever he makes a beneficial dua for his brother the appointed angel says "aameen and may you also be blessed with the same".[Sahih Muslim)

May Allah (‘azza wajjal) guide us all and give us the ability to act upon everything that is written on this blog. May He reward all the brothers and sisters who take time out of their busy schedule to benefit us all with their knowledge and may He grant us all Imaan and Taqwa. Ameen.

p.s. please make dua for me

Wasalamu ‘alaikum warahmatullah

Muslimah

The Key to Answered Prayers (Part 1)

Asalamu ‘alaikum warahmatullahi wabarkatuhu

My beloved brothers and sisters in Islam, have you ever made dua to Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala), didn’t get a quick reply, and despaired for a while? Brothers and sisters, know that any dua that a Muslim makes Allah will surely accept it, either in this dunya or the akhira, therefore, you should never ever despair or lose hope.
“Do not let the delay of what you are fervently praying for discourage you, or dishearten you - for He has Guaranteed you the answer in what He chooses for you (not in what you choose for yourself) and when He wills, not when you do.”(Ibn Atallah, Maxim 6, Chapter 1, The Hikam)

Your dua depends on how much you nag Allah. When you nag a human being, they eventually get annoyed and frustrated; however, Allah loves it when His servants nag him. This is why the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, ‘People will come and say ‘I made dua and I made dua but Allah didn’t respond.’ So then, they give up hope and they stop making dua, and it may have been that Allah was just about to answer that dua. Never ever give up hope in Allah my brothers and sisters, and always nag Him when you are making dua.

Some people think Allah has betrayed them in their dua while they worship Allah well. Don’t ever think that. Know that if Allah cares for you-which He does; if He knows what you’re asking for will cause much harm to you, then He will not respond and He will leave it till the Hereafter.

"Aisha radhiallaahu anha said, "No believer makes Dua and it is wasted. Either it is granted here in this world or deposited for him in the Hereafter as long as he does not get frustrated."

You have to rely on Allah that is the test. Do you rely on Him? Then depend on Him my brothers and sisters, and know that whatever He does is for your own good.

This post is a reminder to myself first and foremost. Any mistakes I have made are due to my own shortcomings, please do forgive me, and any good that has been addressed is from Allah alone and to Him do we return.
Wasalamu ‘alaikum warahmatullah

Muslimah